WND EXCLUSIVE

Track this! Olympians now face implanted chips

'Sport is a club and people don't have to join the club if they don't want to'

Bob Unruh joined WND in 2006 after nearly three decades with the Associated Press, as well as several Upper Midwest newspapers, where he covered everything from legislative battles and sports to tornadoes and homicidal survivalists. He is also a photographer whose scenic work has been used commercially.

Microchips are already being implanted in employees in Belgium and Sweden.

The head of an association of Olympic athletes wants to require anyone who participates in the Summer or Winter Games to be implanted with a tracking chip to prevent the use of performance-enhancing drugs.

Mike Miller, CEO of the World Olympians Association, remarked recently at an anti-doping forum in London that athletes should accept digital implants or be barred from Olympic-level competition, according to the Guardian of London.

“Some people say it’s an invasion of privacy,” Miller said. “Well, sport is a club and people don’t have to join the club if they don’t want to, if they can’t follow the rules.”

“When someone in Miller’s position has the audacity to suggest that RFID dog tracking chips are an acceptable prerequisite for participation in any endeavor, it’s time for action,” she said

Miller didn’t specify what kind of microchip technology he was considering. McIntyre pointed out there are RFID chips with sensors that could detect the health status of a host or substances in the blood.

“A chip/biosensor combo could theoretically monitor an athlete’s blood 24/7 and report aberrations when queried by a nearby reader device – perhaps a phone with a built-in reader, for example,” she said.

And chipping athletes likely would be just a first step, she warned.

“We need legislation that guarantees citizens the right to reject tracking implants without fear of losing the right to work or enjoy other pursuits,” said McIntyre.

She said Miller’s “outrageous recommendation made me realize that we are running out of time.”